TMZ.com
The sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed Sonia Massey claims he was afraid she would throw a pot of boiling water at him, but based on the horrific police body camera footage… her family and lawyer don’t believe it.
Ben Crump is representing Sonya’s family and joined us on “TMZ Live” Tuesday alongside her father, James Wilburnand asked what they thought of the body camera footage showing their fatal interaction with police.
Ben says Sean Grayson — the Sangamon County sheriff charged with first-degree murder — doesn’t appear to be fearing for his safety in the footage, because instead of backing away from Sonya as she handles a pot of boiling water, he moves toward her.
Crump thinks Grayson was getting closer to Sonya so he could get a better look.
7/6/24
Remember, Grayson fired 3 shots, one of which hit unarmed Sonya in the headand then told his partner not to worry about providing medical assistance as she lay bleeding on the kitchen floor.
Grayson said he feared for his safety, but Illinois State Police said their review concluded his use of force was NOT justified.
Crump goes a step further… and thinks that if Grayson was truly afraid, he would have walked away from Sonya and not approached her.
Sonya’s father says he was initially misled that it was a police-involved shooting – and tells us he never thought his daughter would join groups like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black people killed by the police.
CBS
James says his daughter’s death was especially difficult for him …and he’s sure it would have caused cardiac arrest if not for recent bypass surgery.
Bottom line for Ben… the congressman’s excuse here is “stupid.”